Paying for Broken Down Door

April 10th, 2013

A father takes his young daughter to the men’s toilet where the 3&half yr old manages to lock the door. She cannot open the door & is traumatized hysterical. Father kicks the door open breaking the lock & damaging door.is he mechuyav to pay for damages?

Answer:

Yes, he will have to pay the damages.

If his young daughter would have caused the damages, he would not be liable to pay for them, but in this case the direct cause of the damage was the father, and even though the reason why he did it was because of his daughter, the bottom line is that he caused the damage directly and therefore is liable to pay for it.

There is a general question concerning such damages concerning how to evaluate the damage: if we make an evaluation based on the total value of the building, the damage of course will amount to nothing. Yet, as we have noted in other responses, the general approach of poskim is that under such circumstances the damaging party pays for fixing the damage he caused.

Mission Statement

The purpose of this site is to raise public knowledge of the importance of monetary dealings according to the Halacha. At the site you can expand your knowledge with in-depth articles, and in addition consult online with the rabbis of the Beit Midrash on Halachic issues that interest you.
I hope that you enjoy the site and that it will fulfill its goals.
We await your comments and suggestions.
Sincerely, Rabbi Yosef Fleischman.
Av Beis Din “Nesivos Chaim” & Head of Kollel